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The Theosophist THE THEOSOPHIST VOL. 134 NO. 5 FEBRUARY 2013 CONTENTS On the Watch-Tower 3 Radha Burnier The Secret Doctrine: The Key to Further Knowledge 7 C. A. Shinde Krishnamurti and the Mahatma Letters 13 Pedro Oliveira Remarks on Adyar Day, 17 February 2012 19 Ravi Ravindra Krishnamurti: The Rhetorical-Literary Contribution 23 Daniel Ross Chandler Vale Adyar 29 Donna Margherita Ruspoli Books of Interest 35 Theosophical Work around the World 39 International Directory 40 Editor: Mrs Radha Burnier NOTE: Articles for publication in The Theosophist should be sent to the Editorial Office. Cover: Entrance to the Museum at the Headquarters Building — J. Suresh Official organ of the President, founded by H. P. Blavatsky, 1879. The Theosophical Society is responsible only for official notices appearing in this magazine. 1 THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY Founded 17 November 1875 President: Mrs Radha Burnier Vice-President: Mr M. P. Singhal Secretary: Mrs Kusum Satapathy Treasurer: Mr T. S. Jambunathan Headquarters: ADYAR, CHENNAI (MADRAS) 600 020, INDIA Secretary: [email protected] Treasury: [email protected] Adyar Library and Research Centre: [email protected] Theosophical Publishing House: [email protected] & [email protected] Fax: (+91-44) 2490-1399 Editorial Office: [email protected] Website: http://www.ts-adyar.org The Theosophical Society is composed of students, belonging to any religion in the world or to none, who are united by their approval of the Society’s Objects, by their wish to remove religious antagonisms and to draw together men of goodwill, whatsoever their religious opinions, and by their desire to study religious truths and to share the results of their studies with others. Their bond of union is not the profession of a common belief, but a common search and aspiration for Truth. They hold that Truth should be sought by study, by reflection, by purity of life, by devotion to high ideals, and they regard Truth as a prize to be striven for, not as a dogma to be imposed by authority. They consider that belief should be the result of individual study or intuition, and not its antecedent, and should rest on knowledge, not on assertion. They extend tolerance to all, even to the intolerant, not as a privilege they bestow but as a duty they perform, and they seek to remove ignorance, not punish it. They see every religion as an expression of the Divine Wisdom and prefer its study to its condemnation, and its practice to proselytism. Peace is their watchword, as Truth is their aim. Theosophy is the body of truths which forms the basis of all religions, and which cannot be claimed as the exclusive possession of any. It offers a philosophy which renders life intelligible, and which demonstrates the justice and the love which guide its evolution. It puts death in its rightful place, as a recurring incident in an endless life, opening the gateway to a fuller and more radiant existence. It restores to the world the Science of the Spirit, teaching man to know the Spirit as himself and the mind and body as his servants. It illuminates the scriptures and doctrines of religions by unveiling their hidden meanings, and thus justifying them at the bar of intelligence, as they are ever justified in the eyes of intuition. Members of the Theosophical Society study these truths, and theosophists endeavour to live them. Everyone willing to study, to be tolerant, to aim high, and to work perseveringly, is welcomed as a member, and it rests with the member to become a true theosophist. 2 On the Watch-Tower On the Watch-Tower RADHA BURNIER True Religion Highlights Values most by the people whom they were Religious history shows that the em- addressing at that time. They were all phasis has differed from time to time, as initiates or enlightened persons. Then messengers of the Wisdom-teaching came quarrels or disputes arose among lesser among men to help to uplift human con- people about who was right or not right, sciousness. There were teachers like and which is to be followed or not to be ªankara who emphasized self-knowledge followed. It is a presumption, a highly or âtmabodha. There were teachers like egotistic presumption we can say, for Jesus, who stressed love and service and ordinary people like us to imagine that purity of mind which leads one to the we know best what should be thought and ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, which is within, what people need most. Of course the not somewhere else. There have been needs, spiritual as well as external, change teachers who have spoken about the mag- as the world undergoes changes. Today’s nificence and grandeur of the cosmos; need is not the need of the medieval world; there have been others like the Buddha the medieval world did not need what the who spoke of sorrow and the way out ancient world did. China did not need at a of it. The Prophet Mohammed spoke certain time exactly what was needed in about submission to the universal reality Greece. It is said that in the sixth century which he called Allah. Those who fol- BC there was a remarkable upsurge of lowed the mystic way, among whom spiritual teaching in several parts of the there are many, have stressed many other world. Very important messages were things; for example the Taoists spoke given, by Pythagoras, Confucius and briefly but very poignantly about their many others, but one was not less than relationship with nature. the other. They spoke differently from These different approaches, the em- each other; but as the Upanishad says, it phasis which was put at a particular time is the one truth which the enlightened ones on a particular thing or an aspect of the speak about in many ways. path, may be all of profound value and Partly for the reason that if there is valid aspects of the path. Of course the not a change of approach, if the whole great teachers and their advanced disciples question of human regeneration is not knew better than we can, what was needed pointed to from different angles, people’s February 2013 3 The Theosophist minds being fixed and rigid, are more other one is erroneous and so on is an likely to convert what they have heard exercise in futility. into dogma and make it into a creed and If we take one of the important a belief. differences in emphasis, we have two One of the important functions we have approaches — one which speaks about in the Theosophical Society is not only to the magnificence, the inscrutable nature, pick out the pearls from the rubbish of the the mystery of the universe; and the other, many religions, but also to point out that which hardly mentions it, but speaks each of those religions highlighted some- about self-knowledge. Because certain thing of great value we have to know. It teachers have emphasized self-knowledge, is ridiculous, therefore, to try to run down it does not mean that they denied the any particular religion. mystery of the cosmos, or were unaware of its profundities; that would be absurd. Religion is Essential The Buddha, for example, is said to have Religion in the true sense of the term, discouraged people from discussing abs- points out to the human mind that there is truse or far-away questions. He said (this a possibility for it to expand into the region is a famous example) of a man hurt by an of infinite knowledge and infinite love. arrow that when the arrow is piercing the That is essentially what religion tries to flesh the sufferer cannot be discussing do. But it is our work to draw out the abstract things. You have to attend to the essential teachings and throw light on the immediate problem. If you are very sick, profound value of those teachings. This you have to cure yourself first, before you is what is really meant by the study of the can talk about something of a higher order. essential unity of the religions. The unity A sick body cannot deal with profound does not mean identity, as many people things. The Buddha did not deny the exist- think. This is all right at a certain level. ence of cosmic laws, the extraordinary, But the unity of religions consists in the inscrutable nature of cosmic processes. path, if we go to a deeper level. He spoke on the basis of certain presup- It is in the fact that they all show a positions which already existed among path to the Eternal and the Infinite, but the Indian people, for example that the the path starts from a different point in the universe is governed by law. Law works circumference. And there is an infinite not only at the physical and material level, number of points in the circumference, but but at the moral and interior level also. A expressed in many different ways. They law which puts order into everything lay stress on different things, for if perhaps keeps the balance. This was common they presented the whole of it, people knowledge, and the Buddha did not go would be lost. But according to the need into it. He neither denied it nor did he of the time and of the civilization, the emphasize it; he took it for granted that emphasis was changed. For anyone to say people knew about it. that my teaching is the great teaching, the Coming to very recent times, Krishnaji 4 Vol. 134.5 On the Watch-Tower has often been quoted as one who denied in the cosmos there is not only the level the mystery of the cosmos.
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